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The abrupt dismissal of the head of a Utah cancer center is causing backlash from its faculty—and its major philanthropic funder—in a struggle over the center's autonomy from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. And nearly 2000 researchers have signed a petition calling on the university to reverse its decision.
For 11 years, prominent cell biologist Mary Beckerle has headed the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), which is based at the university but receives its funding largely from philanthropic donations, revenue from its cancer hospital, and grants from state and from the National institutes of Health. In an email to some clinical staff on Monday, university President David Pershing and Vivian Lee, senior vice president for health sciences, announced that Beckerle would step down "effective yesterday," but would "remain on faculty as a distinguished professor in biology." Beckerle, who has not responded to Science's request for comment, told The Salt Lake Tribune that she had learned of her dismissal in an email less than an hour earlier.
Details have been scant from the university, which also did not respond to a comment request. But Beckerle's colleagues contend that the move amounts to a hostile takeover by the university aimed at capturing the cancer clinic's revenue, and other prominent scientists are rallying unquestioningly around her.
Also at Deseret News. Change.org petition. University of Utah Health press release.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday April 24 2017, @12:15PM (10 children)
My guess? It's not the scientist squabbling over the money.
More likely, it's an MBA graduate in the administration of the university trying to take the cash from the institute... because he learnt that "Greed is good" lesson well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Monday April 24 2017, @12:25PM (1 child)
And... there she is [utah.edu].
I had my prejudice (against MBA) confirmed, I no longer need any proof....
Ethanol, back to you... she speaks mandarin and has a special interest in the Mormon genome ("The Utah Genome Project, a signature research program based on the Utah Population Database")... see what you can make of it.
(large trollish grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 24 2017, @04:59PM
A Professor who was a low rung at a bigger nearby college was also teaching at our college. He did a bunch of rebellious things against the administration there, which many of us in his courses respected.
Came out a year or two later he was stirring up shit with another department over technicalities of who should be teaching one of the classes (which had had no complaints brought against it in 20+ years) because one of the classes taught some curriculum material that was technically under his departments area of study, even though nobody going for that major would cross study in the other department, and no credits were given under the other department's graduation requirements.
Similiar deal, chinese, feeling under-respected in their position (even though they are seriously lacking in seniority!) and trying to make a big name for themselves no matter who they have to trample over. At least the sleazy white folk you can generally figure out up front if they're a ladder climber. Some of the chinese don't make it obvious until they're jabbing the knife in.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 24 2017, @12:44PM
My first guess as well. When University administration discovers they have a goose laying golden eggs they often sell it...even if the goose is continuing to lay -- for example a lab run by an energetic researcher who is still going strong.
The company my grandfather worked for was founded at the end of WWII when a no-longer-needed corporate research lab was donated to a university. When it was convenient, the university sold them off, messed up a very good group that had been regularly donating money to the university.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday April 24 2017, @02:14PM (6 children)
Actually they seem to know science:
David W. Pershing, University President
1949 Born
1970 BS from Purdue University in chemical engineering
~1973? Doctorate at the University of Arizona, in environmental pollution?
Vivian Lee, Senior vice president for health sciences
1966 Born
1986 Harvard-Radcliffe College magna cum laude
Rhodes Scholarship to doctorate at University of Oxford in medical engineering
M.D. with honors from Harvard Medical School
Residency in diagnostic radiology at Duke University
2006 Master of Business Administration (MBA) at NYU's Stern School of Business
But Universities have some very special treatment when it comes to taxes so it can really pay to do business instead of science. Provided you have the administrative control..
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 24 2017, @02:33PM (5 children)
This may be a case which proves that psychopathy is not necessary debilitating for intelligence traits (s/he might be crazy and/or fool, but not stupid).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday April 24 2017, @02:50PM (4 children)
Maybe someone should run the "delayed gratification" test on them? ;-)
Don't touch the cookie until I'm back....
Any smart ideas on how to spot psychopaths?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 24 2017, @03:17PM
Use common sense; lacking it (as I had), one may use what an average person does nowadays: goto wikipedia [wikipedia.org].
Or hire a shrink [wikipedia.org] in your HR; make sure you check it's CV though, psychopathy is orthogonal with professionalism/qualifications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 24 2017, @03:57PM (2 children)
Any smart ideas on how to spot psychopaths?
Look for people in positions of power. /s
The label is being abused here. I see no indication this isn't normal human behavior when someone gets enough power.
(Score: 2) by Geezer on Monday April 24 2017, @04:41PM (1 child)
That's because powerful people are normally psychopaths, or at least display sociopathic behavior as part of their power-acquisition toolkit. Psychopathy is the norm of power.
Name one Fortune 500 CEO or first-world head of state that can't be demonstrated conclusively to be a douchebag sociopath and I'll send you a case of your favorite cold ones. :)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday April 25 2017, @04:09PM
Name one Fortune 500 CEO or first-world head of state that can't be demonstrated conclusively to be a douchebag sociopath and I'll send you a case of your favorite cold ones.
Well, who isn't a douchebag sociopath under those circumstances in the first place? We need a null hypothesis or we don't have a case to make.